property
Banking deals could bring Frankfurt office market record
With the home office, offices are empty in Frankfurt. At the same time, banks pay a lot of money for modern areas. Thanks to prominent degrees, brokers are now expecting the best quarter of all time.
The moving plans of large banks could unexpectedly bring a record result to the crisping Frankfurt office market. The first three months of 2025 could be the best quarter of all time thanks to some major degrees, said Suat Kurt, branch manager at broker Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL), the German press agency.
Not only did the direct bank ing Germany recently announced that in 2028 it would receive a new headquarters in the Frankfurter Ostend and rented around 32,000 square meters for it. From 2028, Commerzbank will also rent another high -rise in the Frankfurt banking district, the Central Business Tower. Around 3,200 employees are to be brought together by decentralized locations on more than 73,000 square meters.
The two degrees alone added up to over 100,000 square meters, said Kurt. In the entire first quarter, an office area turnover of more than 180,000 square meters is likely to be cracked. The office league stand in Frankfurt could decrease again in the course of this.
Recovery of historical slump
For comparison: According to JLL, only 370,000 square meters of office space were redesigned throughout the past year. And that despite the fact that there was a big degree in 2024 with the European Central Bank, which rented a good 34,000 square meters for their banking supervision in the “Gallileo” office tower.
The home office has established itself in Germany since Corona pandemic, and since then many offices have been empty. In Frankfurt, the vacancy rate in 2024 rose to 9.7 percent after 8.8 percent in the previous year. Many companies reduce areas, and the economic crisis also dampens the demand for offices. With the trend towards the home office, the need for office space in German metropolises should decrease by over a tenth, the IFO Institute and the real estate consultant Colliers estimated in an earlier study.
Companies get employees back
On the other hand, some companies, like Deutsche Bank, are calling for more presence from their employees. “The trend towards the home office flages,” says Kurt. Some investment banks in the Frankfurt banking district have recently leased areas. “Top rents of 50 euros per square meter are reached and exceeded in individual cases.”
However, the gap on the market is growing: While modern areas are competitive in top locations, many offices were empty in B-layers such as Frankfurt-Niederrad or City-West, said Kurt. “We see a twice as high demand in the center as outside. And outside only top objects work outside.”
“Office changes in apartments no topic”
But top locations alone were not enough, said Kurt. Some office towers such as the Trianon in the financial district are not rented again after leaving major tenants. “The demands of tenants in terms of brightness, window fronts and floor plan have changed.”
Although there are so many offices empty, conversions in apartments in Frankfurt are not an issue. “Last year we didn’t see any conversion projects in the city,” said Kurt. Investors are more into consideration in hotels or mixed uses.
“For the conversion into apartments, the requirements are even higher than in the trade, for example with the regulations for social housing,” said Kurt. In addition, the construction costs for investors remained high with the interest increase and expensive materials.
dpa
Source: Stern
